![After placing second in their respective LDEs at the Capital District contest in early November, freshman Jesus Jaramillo-Gallegos and freshman Wyatt Pickett will compete at the Area XII LDE contest in Georgetown on Nov. 23. Jaramillo-Gallegos is competing in Greenhand Spanish Creed Speaking, while Pickett’s LDE is Greenhand Creed Speaking. “Honestly, [I’m excited for] just traveling around, maybe meeting more people,” Jaramillo-Gallegos said. “And [I’m] nervous about probably just not being able to define my weak areas. I feel like I did decent for my first time ever doing this. I just think it’s fun.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Navy-and-Yellow-Simple-Group-Project-Presentation-1200x675.png)
![Holding up T-wolves, the tour group poses for a picture in the Chinese classroom. Sophomore Lydia Ou, junior Phu Trung and senior Yushan Pan gave a tour to Taiwanese diplomat Andrea Yang on Nov. 8. “I was so excited when I heard I would get to give the tour because it’s a big deal,” Ou said. “She’s from the US embassy for Taiwan, so she’s really important. I’m so privileged [to get this opportunity] and I’m so excited.” Photo by Skyler King](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Main-Taiwan.jpg)
![Sitting at a desk past the rows of books laid out for the Book Fair, senior Kimberley Walters assists people in purchasing books and finding titles. The Book Fair is taking place Dec. 16 through Dec. 20, and is an annual event during which students and faculty have the opportunity to go and purchase books and other trinkets in the library. Kimberley said she encourages all to go to the Book Fair, even if they think they don’t like to read. “If you make reading something that is fun for you and you find the things that you like to read, it will never be a chore,” Walters said. “So [the Book Fair is] a good opportunity to find something that will respark your want to read [like] when you were a child and you went to the book fair and you loved the ‘I survived’ books. Maybe you'll find your ‘I survived’ books of your high school experience, and it'll re-spark that kind of love for reading that may have died out.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Addie-L-47-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, sophomore Olivia Mahlmeister and seniors Samantha Jameson, Adhit Eswaramoorthi and Justin Khadavi celebrate completing first chamber in the Congress Meet. All four students advanced to the final chamber. “Out of the 20 kids in the final chamber, we had a seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th, and they took the top four to move on to state,” AP US History and Debate teacher Josh Marsh said. “[Even though] we didn't make state this year, all four of them moving on [and] placing is phenomenal.” Photo courtesy of Josh Marsh](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-Regional-Congress-Team.jpg)
![Standing in front of a small audience, senior Kimberley Walters shares a social criticism poem titled “Pity the Nation” by Lawrence Felinghetti. Every month, sponsored by the poetry club, the library hosts a poetry reading. “I never thought I would be interested in [poetry readings] because I’m not the biggest poetry fan,” Walters said. “I think poetry is a very succinct way to express feelings and get a story across. Whereas lots of books have a span of a whole story, but it’s put in a lot of words. The power of poetry is that you can be so succinct within, and there’s a lot of power within the words that are used.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KIM-1200x800.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding the Grand Nationals trophies, drum majors Helashi Wijayawardhana, Abigail Pettey and Eddy Kim pose for a photo. The BOA Grand Nationals competition took place in Indianapolis on Nov. 14-17. “My favorite thing was just looking back at the field, and I was like, ‘Oh, crap. I know all of their names, I know who all of them are’,” Wijayawardahana said. “It's just insane to me that I was able to make so many connections. [Being a drum major] taught me how to build relationships with people who I’m not really that similar to, and how to juggle a ton of things all together.”
Photo courtesy of CPHS Band SmugMug](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AJC.GrandNatsFinals-169-1200x801.jpg)
![Delicately placing the string to form the shape of a cornucopia, seniors Haley Burton and Avery Nelson create the November arrangement for the Flower of the Month Club. This club is led by Advanced Floral Design Students and provides a monthly arrangement to community members who subscribe to receive them. “I think flower of the month club is a really impactful way to show your loved ones ‘hey I really care about you,’ or even if they’re just for yourself, they’re a little pick-me-up throughout the month that [say] ‘I’m doing ok, and these flowers make my day a little bit brighter,” Nelson said. “I like giving people flowers because people value the flowers more and they value themselves more.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ava-Holmes-3-edit.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
12 Must-Watch Christmas Movies For Literally Anyone Ever
A Diverse List of Iconic Classics and Lesser-Known Gems to Keep You Merry This Holiday Season
December 1, 2022
1. “While You Were Sleeping”
Sandra Bullock stars as Lucy, a single young lady who lives with her cat in this hilarious romantic comedy and my favorite Christmas movie ever. Lucy is presented with the chance to trick her forever crush and his family (who she’s never spoken to, might I add) into thinking they’re getting married. However, things get complicated when her new-to-be brother-in-law begins to fall in love with Lucy as she begins to fall in love with his family. I watch this movie several times each holiday season, and am still heart-warmed every time.
Where to watch: Disney+ | Amazon Prime Video* | YouTube*
Rating: PG
2. “Elf”
Buddy the elf (Will Ferrell) is sent on an unexpecting adventure to find his biological dad after spending all his life at the North Pole under the care of Santa and his elves. Buddy’s dad somehow landed on the naughty list years ago and was never nice enough to get his name off of it. Buddy decides he wants to help his dad find his Christmas spirit, and so he travels to New York to meet him. Buddy has never been anywhere in the world except his innocent home at the North Pole, and struggles to adapt to the modern, ruthless culture of New York City. This is a sweet story about family and figuring out what matters most to you in life. Also, I dare everyone to eat Buddy’s special spaghetti. Here’s the recipe.
Where to watch: HBO Max | Amazon Prime Video* | YouTube*
Rating: PG
3. “Frosty the Snowman”
Frosty, a snowman built by children that comes to life, gets to experience Christmastime with his young friends. When the weather begins to warm up, Frosty realizes he needs to get to the North Pole if he doesn’t want to melt, and a few kids join him on his journey. This classic 1969 film will bring back memories of fuzzy socks, warm fires and songs that you can never really get out of your head during the season of giving. It will leave you with a happy heart and a childish wish to someday meet ole Frosty the happy jolly soul.
Where to watch: YouTube* (there are plenty of videos on YouTube that show it for free) | Amazon Prime Video*
Rating: G
4. “Home Alone”
This pure comedy directed by Chris Columbus is full of action and clever scenes that will have you chuckling on end. Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister is accidentally left at home when his family goes on a Christmas vacation to Paris, not knowing that a couple of crooks are planning to rob their empty (or so they think) house. One of the worst fears of children is shone in a new light, sparkling with jokes and tricks. I remember almost wanting to be left alone at home when my family went on vacation just so I could prove myself defending the house.
Where to watch: Disney+ | Amazon Prime Video* | YouTube*
5. “The 9 Lives of Christmas”
Firefighter Zachary Stone (Brandon Routh), a committed bachelor for life, and Marilee White (Kimberly Sustad), a veterinary student who doesn’t seem to have time for love, find their voluntary singleness challenged when their two cats keep bringing them together. If you’re a cat person, this Christmas movie is made for you. The sequel, The 9 Kittens of Christmas, carries on the storyline with the same Christmas cheer.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel | Amazon Prime Video*
Rating: TVG
6. “Klaus”
A heartwarming, beautifully animated Christmas story, Klaus reaches deep into finding yourself and staying true to who that is. A postman-in-training is sent to an isle far North because of his poor attendance, efforts and talent as a man of the mail. The differences between his home and this new isle hit him hard, but he learns to adapt and even help the town with a dispute that’s been going on for years. Definitely in my top five favorite Christmas movies.
Where to watch: Netflix
Rating: PG
7. “Just Friends”
Ryan Reynolds stars in this charming Christmas movie as a bullied, overweight, nerdy high school senior aging into a respected, successful and incredibly handsome adult. The only thing left to make his adulthood a comeback story is to get the girl that he loved throughout all of high school, but was friend zoned each time he made a move. This rom-com will leave you shaking your head but smiling from plenty of second-hand embarrassment and Ryan Reynolds’ comedic acting.
Where to watch: Peacock | Amazon Prime Video* | YouTube*
Rating: PG-13
8. “Rise of the Guardians”
A bit of a throwback, Rise of the Guardians is an action-packed tale about the world’s favorite guardians: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Jack Frost and the Tooth Fairy, just to name a few. They come together to protect children across the globe when the plotting plans of the Boogeyman, to create darkness and disbelief in every child’s life, begin to threaten their cause. Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, and Jude Law star.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video** | YouTube*
Rating: PG
9. “The Princess Switch”
Vanessa Hudgens stars as both a small-town baker in the United States and as her unlikely doppelgänger who is a duchess in Europe. They meet each other and end up catching feelings for the guy best friend in each other’s life. When it’s time to say goodbye, they pull a switcheroo to stay close to their new love interests. There are two sequels to this movie, with Hudgens starring as more and more characters, and continuously pulling off the switch without a hitch.
Where to watch: Netflix
Rating: PG
10. “Hallmark Channel”
All you need is cable or another viewing platform to have full access to Hallmark Channel’s surprisingly addictive romance Christmas movies. Full of warm fires, hot chocolate, snow and a we-definitely-saw-that-coming twist, these cliché and cheesy (with sometimes a sprinkle of bad acting) movies are special to everyone’s holiday season. And on Christmas Day, Hallmark suspends commercials so you can watch without interruption. It’s their version of wishing you Merry Christmas!
11. “The Polar Express”
A special recommendation by reporter Heidi Williams, this holiday classic is a must-watch every year. Inspired by Chris Van Allsburg’s book, The Polar Express animates a boy’s adventurous journey to the North Pole with other children on a mysterious, magic train. With six original songs, iconic characters, actors Tom Hanks, Josh Hutcherson and more. This movie will leave you with a strong Christmas spirit and a craving for some hot chocolate.
Where to watch: HBO Max | Amazon Prime Video* | YouTube*
Rating: G
12. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
In this seasonal classic, a young reindeer named Rudolph is bullied at flying-reindeer school because of his red nose. Feeling like a “misfit,” Rudolph and an elf, who’s been cast out of his toy-making job because of his dreams to become a dentist, set out on a journey to find somewhere that will accept them, not knowing they were right where they belonged.
Where to watch: YouTube** (plenty of videos of the full film) | Amazon Prime Video*
Rating: G
def not Heidi • Dec 5, 2022 at 11:42 am
SUCH A GREAT ARTICLE KACEY I LOVE IT !!! (die hard still the best Christmas movie)